Somewhat of an Understanding
by Angel-Chan
Summary: Zuko and Katara have a short heart-to-heart... of sorts. -Kataang, slight Maiko-


A/N: I'd written this a loooong time ago--after watching DoBS (so... December?). And it's been sitting in my lj for a while as well. Ahaha, I guess I finally decided the other day, 'I really should post _something_ on ffnet!' Also, this might not be a good read for Zutara fans: though the main players in this one-shot are Zuko and Katara, the pairings follow the show. Ready to read? Onward!

_Somewhat of an Understanding_

Zuko'd witnessed a lot of things in his life: death, war, betrayal (including his own and the damage it'd caused). The one thing he hadn't, however, smacked him square in the jaw the moment he revealed himself to the Avatar''s ragtag group. An enraged waterbender with enough water to smash him through a stone wall-- or was it two walls? After a lot of explaining and shouting, he failed to gain their full trust, though he certainly didn't blame them. Why believe someone like him? However, the Avatar looked him over with eyes that seemed much wiser than that of a twelve-year-old and said, "The past is done, and we can't change anything. But I want to think there's good in everybody. So maybe… maybe we can work something out."

Nobody else agreed to this--especially the girl who'd attacked the prince without a second thought. She vehemently argued, claimed he was "rotten, untrustworthy," that he would just end up hurting them again. Of course, Zuko wanted to know when he'd caused them such a tragedy; but he began to realize that it might have something to do with the scar on the boy's back, about the acts he and his sister had committed… back in Ba Sing Se.

The Avatar pleaded with them to let him make his own decisions and for everyone to trust him. As an afterthought, he promised to keep an eye on the Fire Nation prince until a final verdict could be given. Zuko didn't really like this (why did he have to wait for anyone's opinion?) but kept quiet in hopes of the group calming down. Many snorts and muttered complaints later, the group shuffled toward the campfire, perhaps attempting to think of food instead of the possible enemy lounging mere feet away.

"Could you heal him, Katara?" Zuko snapped his head up. The Avatar stood in front of the waterbender, taking her trembling hands and pulling her close.

She shook her head. "I… I can't," she whispered. "I c-can't… because he'll just--"

"He may be able to help us."

"B-but--"

"Please…." He reached out and touched her cheek (Zuko felt the need to look away, as private as it seemed, but was compelled to continue watching), igniting a soft blush.

A growl-like moan formed in her throat as she glanced at the teen sitting on the floor. Zuko kept his look serious, but guessed that it was too 'angry' because it earned him a nice snarl. Finally, she sighed and murmured, "_Fine_." She received a small smile from the boy before he took his leave, heading over to where the large bison was sleeping.

In a huff, the girl sat as far away as possible and asked him where he hurt. Her blue eyes glared at him; she wasn't even trying to hide her contempt.

At least she wasn't growling anymore.

"So…," Zuko drawled, not sure what to say but wanting to say something nonetheless. "The Avatar seems… _calm_ after everything that's happened."

"His name is Aang," she snapped. Her eyes softened as she glanced over at the snoozing boy, however, and he couldn't help but take notice. "He's really upset, but he's trying to hide it. If they see him feeling miserable, then everyone else is bound to feel miserable…."

"I see. And since you know he's upset, you're upset-- right?"

She snorted softly and made sure to pass over a few stinging scratches as she healed his arm. "It's more than that… and it doesn't help that _you're_ here, too."

"Because you don't trust me," Zuko stated rather matter-of-factly. The waterbender narrowed her brows and bit her bottom lip, almost as though she were holding back any comments (ill-mannered or otherwise) that might cause a fight. He didn't quite understand why her anger reached such heights, but figured it was better to build at least a little peace between them. He took a deep breath before continuing:

"Look, I know that saying sorry will never change what happened, but if there's anything that I can do--"

"Don't you even _try_ that on me." Her hands began to shake, and the water she'd been using splashed to the floor. "You don't know what it's like… holding someone you love in your arms, feeling the life drain away from their body, fearing that each breath might be their last. _Cornered_." She hugged herself slowly, shifting away from the teen as she rasped, "Aang died, you know. There's no way you could ever make me forget that."

He instantly felt a wave of reluctance wash over him. No, he hadn't known the extent of the damage done. And now, watching as the girl shivered from the mere memory of that day, Zuko understood. There was a rift between them-- maybe all of them-- that he would never be able to repair.

Glancing away, he mused, "You love him, don't you?"

"What do you know about love?!" Voice sharp, eyes piercing, she clenched her fists as she stared him down.

"…if you haven't told him, then I think I know more than you."

Though she tried not to show it, her stance faltered (was she so shocked by his claim to love?) and her glare evolved into one of question. "There's someone…," he explained softly, "someone important to me-- that I had to leave behind. She's probably going to be mad at me, not that I blame her, but… but I promised her I would return."

"You know… saying all of that isn't going to change my opinion." With a wave of her hand, she gathered up the water she'd spilt and returned it to her pouch. Blue eyes studied him for a long moment, and he started to feel like a misbehaving child. He was being judged, right then and there, and he had no idea what to do. Not that whatever he did would really make a difference (imagine how hard it would be to help the Avatar if his girlfriend was constantly shooting daggers his way).

She finally looked away and stood. "So you're not a monster, after all…," was her only comment before running over to the Av-- _Aang_ and shaking him awake; the boy didn't even have a chance to respond as she snatched his hand and led him outside.

The prince leaned back on his palms. A sad smile formed as he remembered a pale face with long, raven locks. Once everything was over, he reminded himself. Until then… it seemed that there were still many more things he had to experience in life.


End file.
